Femtocells—building-based wireless access points interfaced with a wired broadband network—are generally deployed to improve indoor wireless coverage provided by a wireless network operator. Femtocells typically operate in licensed portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and generally offer plug-and-play installation; e.g., automatic configuration of femto access point. Improved indoor coverage includes stronger signal and improved reception (e.g., voice or sound), ease of session or call initiation and session or call retention as well. Coverage of a femtocell, or femto AP, is intended to be confined within the bounds of an indoor compound, in order to mitigate interference among mobile stations covered by a macro cell and terminals covered by the femto AP. Additionally, confined coverage can reduce cross-talk among terminals serviced by disparate, neighboring femtocells as well.
Coverage improvements via femtocells also can mitigate customer attrition as long as a favorable subscriber perception regarding voice coverage and other data services with substantive delay sensitivity is attained. A positive customer experience can depend on adequate access management to femtocell service.
It can be desirable to encourage communication devices to utilize a femtocell owned/operated by a subscriber and services available via the femtocell, as it can facilitate communication of information between communication devices and respective users of those communication devices and/or can generate income for the subscriber that owns/operates the femtocell. It also can be desirable to manage access of wireless communication devices to a femtocell to facilitate efficient use of bandwidth and services associated with the femtocell. It also can be desirable to manage access of wireless communication devices to a femtocell in order to facilitate reducing unnecessary signaling between a femtocell and a communication device(s) in the coverage area of the femtocell, where the communication device(s) is not desiring or is not authorized to access the femtocell.